Wales winger Alex Cuthbert hopes to have dispelled fears of a 'second-season syndrome' with try-scoring return to action for the Cardiff Blues.

The 22-year-old, who went from development contract to Six Nations Grand Slam glory last season, celebrated his first appearance of the campaign with a try against Edinburgh on Friday night that may not have been enough to propel the Blues to victory but signalled that he is ready to pick up where he left off last term.

"Obviously people have been saying about that second-season syndrome, which is annoying, so hopefully I have put that to bed now and I can push on," he told the Western Mail. "My confidence is quite high and I'm enjoying my rugby. I've been training hard in pre-season, just working on my weaknesses and my all-round game.

"I want to be a bit more consistent and solid as a winger and try and cement that place for Wales by playing well for the Blues. I feel refreshed. I came back flying last week and I was looking forward to the game a lot."

Cuthbert has an impressive four tries in his nine Test appearances and the next obvious step for him is the British & Irish Lions tour to Hong Kong and Australia next but he is not getting carried away with a gruelling end of year campaign and Six Nations battle in the more immediate future.

"It's every rugby player's dream to play for the Lions and obviously it's in a lot of people's minds," he said. "But my main aim is just to play well for the Blues and get selected for the autumn Tests with Wales and play well then. If you play well for Wales, you never know what happens there. I don't want to look too far forward. I just need to play well and see how it goes."

Cuthbert turned down lucrative offers from France to put pen to paper on an improved Blues deal last season and has no regrets about the decision. "I'm loving it here at the Blues and looking forward to the season," he said. "Phil (Davies) has been a breath of fresh air.

"He's brought in a new culture and way of playing rugby. Everyone is enjoying it. We've got a young team and the boys are progressing and playing well. We are playing the right brand of rugby. It's just putting it together and executing it."